Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38848555›Full record

ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2024

A Metric of Societal Burden Based on Virus Succession to Determine Economic Losses and Health Benefits of China's Lockdown Policies: Model Development and Validation.

Wenxiu Chen, Bin Zhang, Chen Wang, Wei An, Shashika Kumudumali Guruge, Ho-Kwong Chui, Min Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Wenxiu ChenNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0009-0004-7325-3583
Bin ZhangNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0009-0009-6952-0227
Chen WangNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0009-0001-6481-4797
Wei AnNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0001-7025-854X
Shashika Kumudumali GurugeNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0009-0008-6802-6027
Ho-Kwong ChuiEnvironmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, Hong Kong, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1034-0848
Min YangNational Engineering Reaserch Center of Industrial Wastewater Detoxification and Resource Recovery, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9034-3175

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the global health system and economic structure. Although the implementation of lockdown measures achieved notable success in curbing the spread of the pandemic, it concurrently incurred substantial socioeconomic costs.

objectiveThe objective of this study was to delineate an equilibrium between the economic losses and health benefits of lockdown measures, with the aim of identifying the optimal boundary conditions for implementing these measures at various pandemic phases.

methodsThis study used a model to estimate the half-lives of the observed case fatality rates of different strains. It was based on global infection and death data collected by the World Health Organization and strain sequence time series data provided by Nextstrain. The connection between the health benefits and economic losses brought by lockdown measures was established through the calculation of disability-adjusted life years. Taking China's city lockdowns as an example, this study determined the cost-benefit boundary of various lockdown measures during the evolution of COVID-19.

resultsThe study reveals a direct proportionality between economic losses due to lockdowns and the observed case fatality rates of virus strains, a relationship that holds true irrespective of population size or per capita economic output. As SARS-CoV-2 strains evolve and population immunity shifts, there has been a notable decrease in the observed case fatality rate over time, exhibiting a half-life of roughly 8 months. This decline in fatality rates may offset the health benefits of maintaining unchanged lockdown measures, given that the resultant economic losses might exceed the health benefits.

conclusionsThe initial enforcement of lockdown in Wuhan led to significant health benefits. However, with the decline in the observed case fatality rate of the virus strains, the economic losses increasingly outweighed the health benefits. Consequently, it is essential to consistently refine and enhance lockdown strategies in accordance with the evolving fatality and infection rates of different virus strains, thereby optimizing outcomes in anticipation of future pandemics.

Indexed as

COVID-19QuarantineChinaCost-Benefit AnalysisCost of IllnessHumansPandemicsbenefitblanket lockdownfatality ratelockdownlosspandemicpartial lockdownSARS-CoV-2virus succession

Identifiers

PMID38848555
PMCPMC11193073

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.